Don’t be Afraid to Walk Away: You don’t have to accept every job that comes your way

Say No to Bad Prospects

As a business owner, especially for those of us who offer services, it can be difficult to turn away work. We tend to accept everything that comes across our desk regardless of the consequences. As a soloprenuer or a small business owner it can be hard to turn down a potential job; that’s why we tend to take any job we can even when we know it’s going to wreak havoc on our lives.

The reason I am writing the post is because this thought process is fresh in my mind. A friend of mine, a graphic designer, just went through a nasty experience after accepting a job he knew better than to accept. He was hesitant at first, but accepted the job anyways. It didn’t take long for him to realize how wrong he had been. He should have stuck to his guns, listened to his gut, and refused the job. A simple request for service turned into hours of work, a headache of a client to work with, a two page letter detailing everything that was wrong with my friend and his service, the list goes on.

In the end my friend ended up wasting his time, resources, contacts, and a little bit of his sanity for nothing. The simple job that should have taken maybe a couple of hours at best, took days to complete. The client was picky, unreasonable, had no understanding of the design process, nor did he have any desire to learn from someone who has been in graphic design for over 30 years.

The ramifications of taking on a job that you know you shouldn’t are huge. Not only will you not make any money, if you don’t know when to cut the ties you may end up losing money on the job.

Abundant Opportunity

The take away here is you don’t every sale. You should work with and work for people who are a good fit for your service. The world is full of opportunity. Your job is to find those people because they are the one who will move your business and career forward.

It’s okay to turn jobs if they’re not going to fit into your schedule, or if you think that you’re not going to be able to work well with the client. Don’t put yourself through misery just to make a buck, it just isn’t worth it.